


You Need Space, You Need Time

by Damalia (Achrya)



Series: Avengers ABO Stuff [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha Bruce Banner, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, BAMF Pepper Potts, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, He won't accept one because guilt, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Omega Tony Stark, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Violence, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-13 19:06:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4533684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achrya/pseuds/Damalia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>General Ross is taking a different approach to getting his hands on Bruce, by destroying the person doing the most to protect him.<br/>Someone let's it leak that Tony Stark is actually an omega, and an unmated one at that. The Board of Directors invokes the Omega Protection Act, forcing Tony to find a mate or lose everything, including all the protections he's put in place for Bruce. Bruce volunteers and Tony accepts but instead of solving all their problems it creates new ones as they find themselves drawn to each other, damaged omega to alpha who is afraid to be an alpha, and everything changes.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude: Caught Out There

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to explore some of the themes from ‘Silence in Your Beating Heart’ but without all of the...well, baggage of that verse. I’ve got plans over there but I’ve got these plans here and...yeah. Stuff and Thangs Lori, stuff and thangs. Common trope is common but sometimes I have a whim and I just go with it.  
> 

Tony hummed to himself, more or less in tune with the AC/DC filling his workshop, while he sighted through his newest ideas for upgrades to the team’s gear. Bruce was close by, reading at least 3 different articles on ‘naturally occurring genetic mutation’ at the same time and, much to Tony’s horror, taking notes on pen and paper.

Bruce was basically a caveman.

“I think I’ve finally perfected those Hulk out proof pants.” Tony said as he moved his current projects, sonic and concussive force arrows, onto the holo platform along with a list of materials Jarvis had deemed appropriate for the task. Not that there was anything wrong with Clint’s current arsenal, exploding tips, flares, taser arrows and just generally sharp arrowheads were fine but they lacked a certain...showmanship, in Tony’s opinion. There was no flare, not style, behind that stuff and Tony was all about style.

The steady scratching sound of pen over paper stopped. “You’re still working on that?”

Tony understood Bruce’s issues with that little project. For one it seemed like a lot of work (it wasn’t actually that much work once Tony had accidently discovered unstable molecules, something he intended to take a closer look at and maybe unveil to the world any day now) and for two it wasn’t like Bruce got big and green a lot and things like this seemed to be ‘planning’ or ‘expecting’ him to have to in the future when Bruce wanted nothing more than to never go big and green ever again.b

Or at all since the Battle for New York, actually, but with Hydra exposed as having their hands in basically everything ever and SHIELD being out of the game, perhaps permanently, and a bunch of alien tech floating in the wind who knew what was going to happen next.

Beyond all that using his brain and his tech to protect the team was kind of what Tony did, what he felt like he had to do. They were pack now, like Pepper and Rhodey, so doing whatever he could for them just came naturally. Floors in his tower, new and improved uniforms, the best tech, shiney odds and ends and expense accounts...it all just kind of happened without thought.

He had some theories on dynamic traits and long term suppressant use but he didn’t particularly want to test them out or consider them too deeply. He liked to think the things he did were because of who he was, not because of unlucky quirks of biology.

He was saved from answering Bruce’s question by Jarvis announcing that Pepper was calling him.

“I thought you had meetings all morning?” He said by way of a greeting once Jarvis had the call connected. He could hear her breathing and the sounds of people talking frantically in the background but couldn’t make anything out. “Not that I’m not always happy to hear from you and I fully endorse slacking off at all times-”

“Tony.”

“But when you call me in the middle of the work day-”

“Tony, please.” Bruce’s head popped up, brow furrowing and eyes narrowing at the note of urgency in Pepper’s voice.

Quirks of biology. Distressed beta and omega tones would affect a certain part of the alpha brain, make them want to protect, fight, eliminate the threat. Pepper, as a beta that Bruce knew well, being upset would be something like a figurative ice pick to the brain.

“I get worried.” He finished. She sighed and it was a mixture of annoyance and fondness he knew was reserved just for him. “What’s going on?”

“Is...is there anyone there with you right now?” She asked and he could picture her cagey look perfectly. He couldn’t help but notice that the voices around her were getting quieter as she, he assumed, moved away from them.

“The good doctor is here.”

There was the soft click of a door closing on the other end and Pepper made a noise that could only be called ‘defeated’. “I’m not...I’d ask you to go somewhere so we can talk alone by I’m not sure there’s much point to be honest.”

She laughed bitterly at the end of that then sighed again. He could picture her, pretty face pale, eyes wide and frantic, normally perfect hair let down and mussed from her running her fingers through it.

Bruce cocked an eyebrow at that then glanced anxiously towards the door, clearly unsure of what he should do. Tony thought he looked a little overly concerned but then he’d never seen or heard Pepper be anything but completely composed and put together, not even while he was helping Tony work on a cure for Extremis. Even when the risk of death by explosion was hanging over her Pepper was perfect and Tony still wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve her.

“How bad is it?” He leaned forward, hands on the top of his workbench. “Are we talking ‘kidnapped and held in a cave’ bad or ‘SHIELD leaked Stane's death’ bad?”

He’d actually been waiting for the latter since Natasha had put all of SHIELD/Hydra’s dirty laundry on the internet but it hadn’t happened just yet.

Pepper’s breathing hitched. “Bad. It’s-oh god Tony. Turn on the news. Any channel. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this could have happened like this without me knowing.”

“Jarvis.” He was already turning towards the TV mounted on the wall of the workshop. He felt a trickle of fear going down his spine because he could only imagine two things that would upset Pepper and she’d already ruled out one but the other-

 **‘TONY STARK: UNREGISTERED omega?** ’ sat in huge white letters below the faces of two very serious looking newscasters. In the corner of the screen was a time, counting down from 23:41. They were talking but Tony could only just hear it because the TV sounded far away and distorted, like listening to someone talk when you’re underwater, and the sound of his own heart beat was painfully loud to his ears.

_“-Again, for those just joining us, we are discussing the medical records released onto the internet by a currently unknown party or parties that imply that Tony Stark, aka Ironman, the Chairman and owner of Stark Industries is an unregistered and unmated omega. Further the source of the leak is saying Stark has less than 24 hours to respond publicly or ‘video proof’ will be release. Currently no calls to-”_

Tony's mind caught onto 'video proof' and refused to process any further; the woman's voice fell away into nothingness.

The video.

That Video. There was only one video that could expose him, one moment of horrible weakness in his many years of hiding as a beta.

He saw Bruce moving out of the side of his eye, staring up at the TV with something like disbelief taking over his face. "Is this...you're an omega?"

Tony couldn’t answer him, couldn't even breathe, couldn’t hear above the rush of blood and the hammering of his heart in his ears, and the world was going dark. The table fell away under his hands and the ground rose up to catch him and he was sick and retching and

Everything went away.

 

 


	2. But Hell, if it's Over (Then I had Better End It)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony reflects on the whole omega thing and Pepper is Pepper and thus there even though she probably doesn't get paid enough for any of this shit. General Ross is a dick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My love for Pepper is endless and all consuming.  
> Tony’s hate for himself is endless and all consuming. Trigger warnings for victim blaming (I don’t approve of any of it. Dude needs therapy.) and past non-con (And it is non-con. Don't let Tony convince you of otherwise. Remember: Therapy.)

When Tony was young, before he’d presented, he’d always figured he’d present as a beta or alpha. His mother was a beta and his father was an alpha so genetics said that was what was most likely. He did have an omega grandparent on each side but still the odds were in favor or alpha or beta.

Because of that he’d never put much thought into Omega rights or quality of life or protections or what they were or weren’t allowed to do.

In the 80’s there was Omegas Lib but he was a kid and what kid cares about that kind of stuff anyway? And in the end the movement was stamped out and the Omega Protection Acts were put into law.

Omegas couldn’t own property.

Omegas couldn’t inherit.

Omegas couldn’t hold so called stressful or high risk jobs, such as law enforcement, active duty military, politics, and healthcare.

Omegas couldn’t seek higher education without written permission of a parent or mate.  

Reproductive choices would be made by a parent or mate, including the use of suppressants, birth controls, and the ability to seek termination of a pregnancy.

Omegas would stay in the custody of their parents until passed over to a mate. Omegas without parents would be sent to omega shelters for their own safety.

All in the name of protecting omegas, who were too weak, too submissive, too delicate, too precious to be trusted to know what was right for them or survive in the world without an alpha or beta looking after them.

Growing up Tony would hear people talk about omegas the same way they talked about children, things to be tolerated and taken care of but not listened to or their opinions actually considered.

He thought nothing of it.

When he was 14 and went into his first heat his whole life changed. First was the heat which was, in and of itself, a painful humiliating thing that he never wanted to repeat in his entire life. He’d felt like he was being betrayed by his body, turned inside out and bursting against the seams of his skin, desperate to claw out of himself. He’d been unable to think clearly, a state he was unused to, unable to do anything except *feel* and *be* and it was so very not Tony Stark at all. He hated feelings. He hated not being in total control of himself, but being in heat robbed him of that. 

He’d wanted things he couldn’t put a name to, just knew that he felt hot and wet and empty and angry and lonely and confused because he was ready, so ready, and open and willing and needed but there was nothing.

He’d touched himself through the worst of it, found the place he so desperately wanted to be filled up and did what he could but it was never enough and he fell into an unsatisfied furious heap every one of the 5 nights of his first heat.

When the heat was over he’d expected to be yanked out of normal school and sent off to an omega finishing school like all the other rich omegas were. He’d learn to be a proper mate while his parents sorted through potential suitors and as soon as he was old enough he’d be mated and that would be the end of things. Hopefully his parents would find someone nice who’d let him keep working on things, bringing his ideas to life or...maybe he should just accept and let go of all of the dreams and ideas he had in his head.

Instead he’d been greeted not by his parents but by Dr. Jacques, a man in his thirties with a thick accent and excited green eyes. The man had a lab all set up in the basement of the manor and began poking and prodding and testing Tony, giving him a rainbow of pills in various sizes and shapes and 3 months later when his next heat should have rolled around there was nothing.

When people inhaled his scent he registered as a null beta. Not submissive, not omega, just...nothing at all, really.

Officially Jacques worked in their pharmaceutical division, one of the leading authorities on Omegan biology and the developer of the last two generations of suppressants and birth control tailored to omegas.

Unofficially, under the table, he was Tony’s long term physician and one of a handful of people who knew what he was and that Stark Industries had only gotten into the suppressant business because of Tony.

His parents had waited until later in life to have kids and by the time he’d presented them having more was just completely outside of the realm of possibility. He’d been the only child, the only heir, and omegas couldn’t own property, couldn’t hold decent jobs or go to school without parental or mate permission, couldn’t be trusted to run businesses, and couldn’t inherit. He could have mated and his mate could have taken over but that wasn’t what his father had wanted for him or the company.

No, Howard Stark had wanted to hide that his son was an omega at all costs, had wanted suppressants so strong they didn’t just hide him, they shut down everything omega about him, and he’d gotten it. So long as Tony took his little blue pill everyday he appeared blessedly beta.

He’d had exactly two heats since he was 14, the initial one when he’d presented and the one in the cave. His sense of smell was dulled significantly, his scent glands had ceased production, he never had any strange ‘urges’, and he was completely unaffected by alphas.

When Alphas spoke to him, no matter how far along on the dominant scale they were and how much steel they put into their voices, he re-acted like a beta would, which was to say not at all. He didn’t have any of the rounding of hips that a fertile omega of breeding age would, never nested or felt the urge to share space with other omegas.

He didn’t go into heat. Didn’t want to be bred. Never felt that all consuming aching emptiness.

He went off to MIT at the point where he should have been married off and expecting his first pups. He laughed at all the jokes about knot sluts and omega whores the older betas and alphas because as long as he took his little blue pills everyday he was just as beta as they were.

He was so beta sometimes he forgot he wasn’t actually a beta.

He’d worried about sex at first since there were some pretty tell-tale signs that went along with omega arousal but as it turned out he was...well. As dry as a beta would be. So he slept with betas and omegas but never alphas because male betas weren’t really built to take knots and even if he was built that way...well.

Pretending to be a beta meant he couldn’t even go there. Couldn’t consider it.

He built a reputation as a playboy but no one ever called him a slut or a whore or suggested that he wanted to be filled up with cock or was desperate for sex because of his dynamic and it was one of the things he most appreciated about his little charade. No judgement.

Well, okay, there was tons of judgement but none of it was because he happened to produce O hormones instead of B or A, it was all based in his actions

After his parents died he quietly donated to omega shelters and houses and educational funds and made sure research into suppressants that could be produced cheaper continued. He met Pepper Potts and basically fell in love the minute he laid eyes on her and wasn’t that a funny thing, an omega male in love with a beta female.

He told her the truth because...because she was Pepper. She accepted it without question, never made him feel like he was lesser because he was the lower dynamic between the two of them, and she loved him all the same. She stayed at his side, was his best friend, occasional (or frequent) caretaker and never acted like he was his dynamic.

He loved her that much more for it.

And then the Ten Rings. Locked in a cave with no suppressants for 3 months. A heat had been inevitable and it had been...bad. Worse there had been a video and it had been sent to Stane and Pepper had seen it and that had changed everything.

If he could go back and change just one thing in his life it would be sending Pepper to get information and putting her in a position to see what she’d seen.

There had been videos. The first of the videos sent from the Ten Rings to Stane, had been damning but innocent enough, just his kidnappers saying they’d realized they had something far more precious than they’d thought, Tony Stark, billionaire. The second video was of him in his heat, greedy and wanting and hateful and screaming and completely fucked out and Raza suggesting that perhaps they would send him back, bitten and bonded and full of pups for Stane to deal with.

Nothing had been right after that. Pepper hadn’t faltered of course, she would never, but he hadn’t been able to look her in the eye once he’d known that she knew. Couldn’t stand that she wanted to be with him anyway, hated the way she held him tight and told him it wasn’t his fault when he’d been there, he’d lived it, he’d begged and wanted and he…

He knew.

He’d pushed her away and eventually she’d relented, stopped fighting her way back and let him have his way. He was just beyond dysfunctional and he wasn’t getting any better and wouldn’t let her help and even Pepper’s patience had an end.

When he’d told her that, in a way, it was lucky that he’d gone into heat and things had gone that way because he’d smelled so strongly of alpha and death when the military had plucked him out of the sand that his own omega scent had been impossible to detect, that he really should have been grateful because it helped him keep his secret, she’d stormed out and refused to speak to him for two months.

He’d had it coming.

They were still friends. Best friends, so close that sometimes people weren’t so sure it was Happy’s ring and Happy’s mating scar that Pepper wore. He’d stood beside her as her ‘Man of Honor’ and it had been one of the proudest moments of life.

He still needed Pepper like other people needed sleep and air of course, he just knew that Pepper deserved more.

He didn’t know what he’d do without her, especially now that everything was literally falling to pieces around him.

He’d woken up in his bed after his little panic attack-puking-passing out incident. When he tried to move he found that someone was lying on the blankets next to him, essentially keeping him pinned in place. He wasn’t surprised to shift and find Pepper lying next to him, eyes rimmed with red and pale red hair a tangled halo around her face.

He thought that maybe this pushed the boundaries of acceptable friendly behavior but Pepper Potts did exactly what she wanted when she wanted and woe unto anyone who tried to stop her, up to and including her husband or Tony.

Ending their relationship was the only fight Tony had ever won with her and wasn’t that just incredibly sad.

“Miss Potts.” He said, frowning at the hoarse sound of his voice. His tongue felt like sandpaper and his mouth felt like it was full of cotton and it all tasted sour and disgusting.

“Mr Stark.” She offered up a smile that didn’t reach her eyes but he appreciated the effort.

“Give me an update. How long have I been out?”

“About six hours.”

He cringed; that was a huge chunk of wasted time he should have spent awake, trying to figure something out. “Status of the leak?”

“It’s everywhere. All over the internet, released to every major discussion forum, blog, online news source...everything. We picked up on it within ten minutes, less than that but it’s everywhere.” Pepper said and it sounded like an apology, like guilt, like she was blaming herself.

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, it was so far from fine he didn’t think he’d ever be able to see fine again, but he needed her with her head in the game, not drowning herself in guilt. Besides this was his secret and his mess to clean up. “What about the records?”

“I’ve got the lawyers putting out injunctions and getting them taken down but...the internet.” She huffed out an angry breath. “They’re real, Dr. Jacques notes Going back to when you 14, detailing everything that went into making your suppressants. I sent Happy to speak to Jacques but...Tony. He’s at Lake Lafayette. Where General Ross is stationed.”

He nodded absently, letting it sink in.

He’d never entertained the idea that Jacques might sell him out and he had no one to blame but himself for that. The man had been well paid, had every single idea he’d had over the years indulged and funded, and was considered a genius and respected but everyone had their price in the end (except Pepper, of course.)

And General Ross? What did Ross want with his physician anyway? Last he’d been aware the man was busy seething about Bruce being in the tower, granted a pardon (for now) after Tony had called in basically every favor he had with the government and military (which was a lot of favors but the Hulk represented a lot of problems to a lot of people).

“Jacques is denying having anything to do with the leak. He says someone must have gotten into his files while he was moving his lab.” Pepper’s eyes flickered and there was a cool fury there, the kind that promised that something terrible was about to happen to someone. Tony found he felt sorry for Jacques because whatever he thought he was going to gain joining up Ross wasn’t going to be worth Pepper’s wrath. Then she sent a nervous look at a point just above his shoulder and licked her lips. “But he...uh. He took everything. All the information about your suppressants and the entire stock is gone.”

Tony looked towards his bedside table instinctively, thinking about the small foil packets of pills in there. How many did he have left? 2? 3? Enough that he spare could some for the brains in pharmaceuticals to figure it out and get him a new supply before the effects wore off?

“I can get you different scent suppressants.” Pepper said and he could hear what she wasn’t saying. Heat suppressants weren’t a thing, deemed too potentially harmful for omegas by all the leading scientists and doctors out there. Heats couldn’t be stopped and it was dangerous to try; they were a biological process that needed to happen for the healthy and welfare of omegas.

There were, of course, no omegas among the ‘minds’ who’d made those choices.

His suppressants stopped heats but he wasn’t going to find a replacement legally.

“The board has been calling.” There was another flash of anger as she spoke and then something dark and resigned. “They’re invoking the Omega Protection Act.”

There had been no omegas among the lawmakers who’d thought up and pushed the OPA through either. No omega politicians at all, actually. No, omegas were much too volatile, too delicate, too precious and submissive to be allowed to do much of anything let alone get into politics.

He needed to be...not lying down for this. He wiggled out of bed, glad to find he was still dressed in his ratty jeans and oil stained henley, and started pacing the room, mind working as he tried to process everything Pepper was telling him.  

The board of directors were assholes. He’d wanted to get rid of all of them after everything with Stane, where they’d allowed themselves to be swayed against him so easily, but such things were easier said than done. It was like a chess game and he’d been poised to win as a large chunk of the board had been appointed by his father and thus were due to start dying out soon giving way to people he’d picked but this…

This was going to be a problem.

“Can we do anything to stop them?” She looked stricken and he knew the answer was no. He’d expected that; you didn’t get a shit like this back in the bottle once it was out. “Okay. I’ll just transfer all my assets to you.”

She grimaced. “I’m...suspended pending investigation of the claims against you. The board is claiming my appointment is illegal considering your status. I imagine you transferring assets will go the same way.”

He nodded, frowning. He should have seen that coming; everything he’d ever done or touched would be tainted by the knowledge that he was an omega.

“Options?”

Pepper smiled wanly. “Well you can get married and have your spouse take over as owner and chairman. We can fight the OPA and try to get the laws changed. We can...try to claim the records are fake, somehow get through a medical exam by someone not in your pocket, and if that...video exists claim it’s...fake. We could kill the board of directors.”

She looked a little green at the mention of the video and guilt gnawed at him yet again. She shouldn’t have to live with what had happened to him, with what he’d done.

“Press release, confirm the leak.” Tony said finally. “You know what it should say.”

They’d already been prepared for this. Once upon a time he could have afforded to be naive but after being held by the Ten Rings he’d been forced to accept that something could in fact go wrong. He wasn’t untouchable and he couldn’t afford to act like he was.

Admittedly he hadn’t expected medical records but that was actually better than what it could have been. The video was the real danger and if there was even a chance it still existed he had to do whatever it took to keep it from being seen. That video would do worse than expose him as an omega, it would destroy him.

Pepper didn’t say anything and when he passed the bed again he could see her eyes were glassy and brimming with tears. He stopped and sighed.

“Pep.”

“You can’t take this back.” She said slowly, drawing out each word like they caused her pain to say. “If you confirm this it’s done.”

It was done anyway, all he could do now was damage control and hope that if the leaker really had that video (the video that shouldn’t exist because he’d gone through every piece of electronic equipment Stane had ever even looked at, even been in the same building as, and destroyed everything but he just...couldn’t take that risk.) they would stay true to their word and not release it.

“Press release. Then we’ll need a plan for the board. How much time do I have?”

He already knew. He knew the Omega Protection Acts backwards and forwards, had studied it harder than anything he’d ever studied in college. He knew that in cases where an omega was the only potential inheritor they had two months from the time the OPA was invoked to find a suitable mate to legally take possession of whatever property and holdings there were, as well as the omega themselves.

Pepper looked down at her hands and Tony followed her gaze, saw her twisting the bright platinum band around her fingers. “Happy and I talked. If-”

“No.” He said firmly. Then stopped and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, a sudden realization hitting him. “That dick.”

Pepper blinked. “Excuse me?”

“This is about Bruce.” Tony pointed at Pepper who batted his finger out of her face with a half smile. “If I lose everything, the company, the tower, the money, all that goodwill I’ve built up as Ironman then-”

“There’s nothing to protect Bruce here.” She finished.

He nodded then shook his head then swore. “Jarvis, call the team. All of them. Pep, I want all the lawyers working on...everything. Mating licence, OPA challenges, ways to stall the board, ways to get Ross thrown into the world’s deepest, darkest, most shit filled hole forever. I want them to have started working yesterday. Find out where he’s living then buy it and turn it into...a Hulk merchandise store.”

He pretended not to see Pepper roll her eyes at the last part.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter basically wrote itself and there wasn't much to the prelude so...here, bonus chapter this week! Let me know what you think.  
> Pepper is married/bonded to Happy but she retains her last name. She tried out Hogan for a little bit but decided Pepper Hogan didn't have the same flow and that was that. 
> 
> Next chapter: Steve is a ball of issues, or at least that's what Sam keeps telling him. Bruce is have The Worst Day Ever. Or *looks at Tony* Okay, Second Worst.


	3. Chains Only Break Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is very Tony about things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were here for Bucky and Steve I regret to inform you that things have changed and this is primarily a Tony/Bruce story now, with some other pairings in the background. The Stucky part of the story has migrated to it’s own thing as they were no way to blend the different storylines logically. Also Sam wandered in and took over. It’s a thing.  
> Okay? Okay! Moving on.

_“You need to get looked at.” Tony said, noting the parts of the uniform that were torn and stained with blood._

_Cap was sitting on the ground, leaning against what looked like it had once been part of a wall. He looked up at Tony through half lidded eyes. “It’ll heal soon. I do that. Food will help.”_

_“I told you there’s a shawarma place just- wait no.” Tony pointed at Cap who just stared at his finger like he couldn’t fathom what it was. “Checked out first. Even Banner’s getting a once over.”_

_“Is that a good idea?” Concern started to flicker across his face but, ultimately, faded back into exhaustion._

_“Why? Because of all the radiation or the part where people are known for trying to steal his blood?”_

_Cap looked faintly bewildered._ _“I don’t see why it can’t be both. Is blood stealing a pressing concern?”_

_“I’ve got guys. My guys. SI guys.” Tony paused, realizing he was babbling. Well, whatever, he’d just been dead so he was entitled. “Who would like to take a look at you. Patch you up, check your blood for any weird alien rabies-”_

_“I’m an omega.” Cap interrupted, squinting up at him. Tony’s mouth dropped open then, blinking dumbly, he sank down to sit next to the other man._

_“What?”_

_“I’ll see your guys but it’ll probably come up in your alien rabies check and I figure you'd want to be aware of that before hand.” He reached up and brushed some dust off of his uniform._

_“That. You. You’re.” Tony made a vague gesture, trying to grasp for a clear thought. He was basically running on adrenaline and stubbornness at this point. He’d almost collapsed when he’d finally gotten the suit off but then he’d realized the rest of the team looked awful, battered and bloody and, in Bruce’s case, naked and he’d forced himself to keep moving, call down a med team, round up all the others and bullied them into getting checked out, and of course pants._

_Pants had been very important._

_“You smell like an alpha.” Admittedly Tony didn’t know if that was true but he figured it must have been for Cap to be skating by on the whole 'alpha' thing. His suppressants had completely shut down his ability to scent others. Not just the dulled ability that Beta’s possessed but rather there was nothing at all._

_It was...a side effect that no had really predicted. An admittedly very strange one. It had given him some trouble at first when suddenly the comforting scent of his mother and Jarvis had just...disappeared. They'd been there, warm familiar scents, one day and gone the next. A huge part of the world had just stopped existing for him._

_His father had always said it was a small price to pay and Tony supposed he was right._

_Cap yawned. “Serum.”_

_“The serum. I. Sure. Why not. What was a foot of height, over a hundred pounds of muscle, and some alpha pheromones anyway? That makes sense.” It didn’t make any sense but then Banner turned into a big green rage monster and Thor was some kind of god alien thing, Barton shot at aliens...with a bow and arrow. Cap was basically the least absurd part. “Well your secret is safe with me Capsicle.”_

_“It’s not a secret Stark. I never wanted to hide.” He frowned. “Everyone knew before and it’s just...I came back to a bunch of Captain America is the ultimate Alpha Male stuff. I haven’t figured out who started that yet but Fury suggested I just go along with it for now.” His lips turned down at the corners in irritation, the first show of something other than weariness. “I’m not so sure about that; I don’t like pretending to be something I’m not while other people like me have to deal with messed up things. Before, back then, I’d punch anyone who had a problem with me. But now you’ve got these laws and all these rules, these ‘protections’ and I don’t...Stark? You doing okay?”_

_It wasn’t everyday a guy got to hear his once upon a time childhood hero start to monologue about omega rights after revealing, oh so casually like it wasn’t a big deal at all, that he wasn’t what history said he was. Tony’s mind was just a little bit blown._

_So blown that he considered, for an absurd moment, telling Cap what he’d only ever told Pepper. It was there, on the tip of his tongue and he knew it would have felt great to tell someone. But then what? He and Cap made friends, braided each other’s hair, bonded over their unfortunate lots in life? Or maybe just Tony’s because Cap didn’t seem to think much of it either way and Tony just didn’t get that. Didn’t understand how he could so casually put what he was out there. He barely knew Tony, really, but there he was, just giving up the same thing Tony kept so closely guarded._

_“Stark,” Natasha called and Tony looked up to see her and Clint, sporting a few new bandages. “I heard we were getting food?”_

_Steve made a noise that was borderline obscene. “Yes, please.”_

_Tony shook himself then rose to his feet unsteadily. “Yeah, let’s do that before we all pass out in the street.”_

\----

The meeting with the board went worse than Tony expected.

He had the press release put out during the night, a simple confirmation that yes, he was an omega and he’d never once claimed not to be an omega (technically the truth. No one had ever asked so he’d never told.). Yes he was unregistered but d. His company was doing better than ever, he had some exciting projects in the pipeline, and his work as Ironman spoke for itself. The matter of his reproductive parts wasn’t worth all the outrage and speculation, the leak of his medical files was a very serious breach of his privacy that he hoped the media would have the tact to not capitalize on, and he hoped that people soon found something else to gossip about.

It was to the point, focused on the positive things he’d done, and added that super special sheen of ‘shame on all of you’ to it.

He was pretty sure just coming out and admitting it would take some of the wind out of the media's sails and buy him a little time to deal with more pressing concerns. Like keeping his company.

It was kind of amazing how people who last week had thought he was brilliant and were willing to back his every idea (or least acted like they wanted to do so to his face) were so quick to change their tone. They meeting had been formal, with lawyers crammed practically to the rafters, and an adamant refusal to listen to anything he was saying.

And not just in the ‘we disagree sense’ but in the sense that as soon as he’d walked into the room he’d been informed that they’d be adhering to traditional practices, which was basically a polite way of saying omegas were meant to be seen but not heard.

He wasn’t above admitting it had...ruffled his feathers and he may have, perhaps, said something about them expecting him to kneel. He, or rather Pepper, had been assured that wasn’t needed but Tony didn’t think he’d imagined some of the smirks and dark gleams in the eyes of some of the assembled suits.

He didn’t want to let it get under his skin how easily he was being shifted to second class in the eyes of men who’d known him his entire life. He’d already known a lot of them were traditional bordering on being huge assholes; there had been a lot of pushback when he’d put Pepper into the CEO position. There had been a lot of  behind the scenes talk about favoritism, Pepper fucking her way to the top, grumbling about a beta woman in the board room. It hadn’t helped that at the time the board had been the same exact one that had nearly sided with Stane against him. They’d made some changes since then, weeded out a few of those who’d had loyalty to Stane above all else and sent them on their way with generous severance packages because in business you couldn’t just fire people for siding with the other guy, you had to pay them to go the hell away.

Pepper had risen above it, stepped into the position and made some pretty amazing things happen and she’d done it without any outward signs of anger or even annoyance. She made her point by being better than everyone else, not by arguing or yelling.

Pepper was a better person than he was. He was simmering with anger and it was taking a lot to keep it contained. They looked at him with new eyes, judged him, bristled at the thought that they’d been answering to someone ‘lesser’ all this time, that they’d been tricked by someone who was supposed to be too weak, too submissive, too emotional to be much good for anything except breeding and looking pretty.

But Tony wasn’t any of those things and it was pissing them off. He could see it on their faces.

They wanted to take his company from him, his father’s company, the thing that he had poured his life, time, love and genius into, and they wanted to do it because of a quirk of biology.

He’d expected it but hearing them say it was...harder than he’d thought it would be.

But it was all done for the time being and he had other things to attend to. LIke his team’s reaction and dealing with Bruce.

Tony hadn’t had any intention of letting Bruce in on the fact that General Ross might be involved in things (and by might be he means ‘absolutely is’) but unfortunately Bruce is the only person Tony knows who might actually be smarter than he is.

Also Pepper apparently felt like he had a right to know and blabbed the minute she was out of Tony’s sight the night before. She was completely unapologetic about it and insisted on saying disgustingly reasonable things about Bruce needing to know if he’s being targeted or in danger so he can protect himself.

Which was ridiculous. Bruce doesn’t need to protect himself because that’s what Tony was already doing. That was the whole fucking point, wasn’t it? That he was protecting Bruce, letting him live like a normal human being (or as normal as anyone in the tower lived) and not be chased by every alphabet agency in the nation?

A small setback or two didn’t change that.

All it did was make Bruce start thinking he needed to leave, run off into the sunset and vanish off the grid in the name of sparing the people around him because he had a martyr complex roughly as dangerous as his temper.

It had been hard enough to convince him to stay in the city after Loki’s temper tantrum and that was without people being actively after him or trying to smoke him out using his friends. Now he was probably going to have to do something immoral to get him to say, like...guilting him into it.

Which Tony wasn’t above. He was a businessman after all and a pretty good one a that. He’d engaged in more than one hostile takeover in his time.

Tony walked into the Avengers conference room after his ‘meeting’ with the board, expecting no one but Bruce to be there already and found everyone except Thor sitting in the room, helping themselves to the bagels, donuts, and fruit that someone had brought in.

He had to do a double take at Natasha; she was dressed in yoga pants and an oversized Empire State University hoodie, her hair was cut short and a soft honey blond, falling in sharp peaks and brushing over her face, giving her an almost sweet look. But then she caught his eye and smiled, slow and dark, before popping a piece of melon in her mouth. It was that confusing kind of sexy and terrifying that was uniquely Natasha.

Clint had opened a window and was sitting with one leg dangling out, twirling an arrow between his fingers, apparently unbothered by being 80 or so stories off the ground.

Of course.

Things like potentially falling to his horrible horrible death meant nothing to Clint. The blond did look up and grin at him around the chunk of donut hanging from his lips.

Tony hesitated a moment when his eyes fell on Steve and Sam. They were sitting at the table, close enough that their shoulders were touching. Steve was wearing his brooding expression, staring intently at something on the tablet in his hand while Sam peered over his shoulder, expression more neutral. They both looked up when Tony walked in; Steve’s frown deepened, which was no surprise considering, but Sam leaned back in his seat and raised a hand in greeting. Tony nodded back.

He’d met Sam a few years ago, while doing work on Project Falcon. He’d liked the younger man even then; he was friendly, stood up for himself, and always had a quip ready.

The project itself had been interesting not just because of the tech involved (though the tech Tony had come up with had been particularly sexy) because it had wanted to see if mated pairs could, perhaps, make more effective partners in the field. It had been a theory put forth by Peggy Carter back in the 90’s that mated pairs, and in particular alpha and omega pairs, were evolutionary predisposed to be perfect teams. Carter had believed that omegas were not ‘weak’ because they seemed to lack the aggression response of their alpha counterparts, but rather were natural protectors and that defaulting to aggression was incompatible with that role.   

Tony wasn’t sure how much stock he put into the whole thing but Sam Wilson and his mate, Riley, had been the pair to make it through the training and it should have been a success for omega inclusion in the military, but the whole thing had been bogged down in costs, controversy, and debate and then Sam’s partner had died and Sam had fallen off the grid and that had been deemed a ‘sign’ that omegas couldn’t possibly handle combat or being in the military. The logic was lacking, Tony knew very few people who could get over seeing their mate blown out of the air by an RPG without some issues.

Cap seemed to like him, if the lack of space between them was any indication, so even if Tony hadn’t liked him before he’d take that as a ringing endorsement about his personality.

And then there was Bruce, who looked like...well frankly he looked terrible. Curls out of order, eyes tired and drooping, lips pressed into a thin bloodless line, wearing the same exactly clothes as the last time he’d seen him. He didn’t look any more green than usual but he certainly wasn’t happy or calm.

He fished his phone out of his pocket as he dropped into the chair at the head of the table. “I want you to know I’m sending a message to Pepper letting her know that she broke you and that she needs to fix it or buy me a new one.”

Tony had expected some kind of comeback because Bruce always had a comeback (that was part of his charm) but the other man just sighed and pushed his glasses up to rub at the bridge of his nose. Tony frowned harder.

This wasn’t going to work for him.

“Jesus Bruce, you look like you were the one outed on the internet. Which was me, by the way, and I still look great.”

Bruce glanced at him, eyes dull. “Until you lose your company you mean.”

“No, I’ll still look great even then.” Tony smiled widely.

“Tony isn’t losing his company.” Clint scoffed then went still, eyes narrowing. “Right? I mean...you  aren’t, are you? I know that's a thing but you've got a plan, right?”

“Oh no, I’m losing it.” Tony sat back in his seat and shrugged. “I’m going to challenge the OPA and I’ll try to stall as long as I can, I’ve got Pepper digging up every loophole there is relating to omega inheritance and asset rights but it’s not going to be enough time. Changing laws takes time, years even. I’m going to do it anyway of course. I’ve been working on it for years, since I built the first suit-” Since The Cave and the forcible reminder that little blue pills were very fallible. “To make an airtight case. But it’s still a matter of time and I don’t have any." 

Clint blinked slowly. "Oh. Well that sounds bad." 

"I’m pretty fucked.” Tony agreed. 

Mostly fucked, anyway. He had an immediate plan to work off of but it wasn't the kind of plan that made the situation any better really.

He watched their faces. Bruce sank lower in his seat, eyes sliding shut. Clint and Natasha exchanged unreadable looks then the blond hopped out of the window and walked to take a seat at the table. Steve’s face was a mask of barely contained anger and Sam was watching them all thoughtfully.

“You should have said something.” Steve said and there was no mistaking the anger in his tone. Sam leaned into Steve, nudging him with his shoulder. Steve glanced at him then sighed, expression softening. “We would have understood.”

The ‘I would have understood’ was implied so heavily it almost hurt.

He forced out a bark of laughter, waving a hand as if it would push away all the meaning in Cap’s words. “Are you serious? Did you miss all the reporters outside, building their own little shanty town in front of the lobby doors or all the talking heads questioning how I could possibly be trusted or considered a ‘hero’ when I’ve been lying to everyone for years, questioning every choice I’ve ever made, and the part where people are trying to take my company?”

“What does that have to do with us?” Natasha asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Unless you thought we were going to tell someone?”

“Did you think we’d sell you out?” Bruce sat up, eyes narrowing and Tony wasn’t positive but he thought he saw a ring of green around the pupils. “Us? Me?”  

Tony jerked back. “NO! No.”

This was getting out of hand, fast. But then getting all of them in one room tended to go that way, even now. They weren’t an easy group to reign in and Steve didn’t even look like he planned to try. Tony was starting to suspect Cap had a real petty streak. 

“Yeah, that’d be stupid and Stark doesn’t do stupid.” Clint sounded confident in spite of the skeptical way he was looking at Tony.

“Aww, Katniss. That’s touching.”

Steve leaned forward, resting his hands on the table top. “So what was it then?”

“Wha?” Tony blinked, mind stalling. “Are we...are we talking about this? Right now?”

He hoped not. It was...complicated. And involved feelings. And there were few things he hated dealing with his feelings. Besides, explaining that his father had been so ashamed of how Tony had presented, how he’d been born, that he’d started an entire division, had hired various experts and let them poke and prod and draw blood until they had a way to hide what he was would just lead to...well.

Feelings.

“Talking about why you don’t trust the team?” Steve asked. “Now seems like a pretty good time to me. Did you have something else to do?”

“Hey hey.” Tony put a hand up. “I trust you more than anyone I know. Aside from Pepper. And Rhodey. And...well. That’s why I called you. Because of trust. Which I have in all of you.”

“What do you need us to do?” Natasha asked, shifting to ‘all business’ like a switch had been flipped.

Steve looked like he was going to protest but Sam reached out, wrapping fingers around the other man’s wrist. Tony saw him swipe his thumb over where the scent gland would be; Steve frowned but settled back, visibly relaxing. Tony made a mental note to send him a gift basket.

“I hope it involves punching something.” Clint’s smile was all teeth.

He didn’t understand them at all. He could see the stiffness in their postures, could see they were all upset with him, but just like that they were ready to hear what he needed from them.

“It’s a small thing really. Minuscule.” He smiled easily, not feeling it at all. But it was simple to fall back into. “I just need one of you to agree to be my mate.”

Clint dropped his arrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so we're all on the same page
> 
> Bruce, Natasha, and Clint are alphas. Pepper is a beta. Steve and Sam are omegas. Tony is self hating. Thor is Thor.


	4. I Never Meant To Brag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Howard is the worst (but probably meant well), Brain Banner is the worst (and didn’t mean well), and Bruce should probably stop thinking of himself as three separate people. Because it’s weird. So weird.

_Howard Stark sifted through the information that had been presented to him along, saying nothing to the nervous boy sitting in the chair across from him. Tony thought he resembled a pin cushion more than an actual human; his arms were covered in dark bruises and tiny pinpricks, a product of all the blood draws and injections. He’d been stuck into a room in the basement of the mansion once his heat had passed and other than the doctor his father had hired and Howard himself no one had been down to see him._

_He’d asked about his mother once and he’d gotten a steely glare before his father being told that, while Howard understood being an omega meant that he’d had less control over his emotions now, he would need to work on controlling such things. Howard expected better from him, expected the strength to stand up and be more than he was._

_Tony knew, logically, that his father was full of shit. He’d known it for years now, since he was six or so at least. He knew Howard drank too much, yelled too often, asked for too much, and that almost everyone he said or did when it came to Tony was wrong. He knew all of that like he knew how to deconstruct a toaster and reconstruct it into a small blowtorch in under five minutes._

_But he’d nodded anyway, ashamed in spite of himself. Bowed his head to Howard like he always did and resolved to do better, try harder, to earn something other than indifference and hard words from his father._

_He didn’t ask about his mother again. He didn’t complain about the tests even when the stuff they pushed into his body burned like fire and made him want to peel his skin back to stop it, or when they forced him to stay up for days on end for observation, or when he woke up from being put under with drugs to find stitches and ugly wounds over his abdomen_

_“The heat and scent suppressants we’ve developed for you should work.” Howard announced finally, glancing at him over the top of the papers in his hand. “The next stage will be to have it moved to a pill form but for now you’ll submit to the daily injections. I assume I don’t need to let you know that your entire future hinges on you keeping anyone from ever finding out about this Anthony. There can be no hints in your personality or actions that you’re omega, none. You must be beyond reproach”_

_Tony nodded. “I understand.”_

_“Do you?” Howard leaned forward, fingers coming together to form a pyramid on the desktop. “If you’re found out you won’t just lose the company, you’ll become little more than something to be bartered and used to obtain control and power. The person you were mated to would become the head of the company and inherit everything and if you think anyone would care about anything but, would want you for something other than that, you are mistaken._

_“If this ever gets out you’ll be maneuvered, manipulated, turned into a puppet. You can’t let that happen.”_

\---

Clint, Natasha, and Steve started talking at once, voices raising with each passing moment and blending together until the words were almost impossible to distinguish and attribute to any one of them. Tony was watching them, a shit eating grin starting to curve his lips and it was just so...Tony.

It didn’t matter what was going on or how dire a situation was, Tony was facing it with a cool smile and endless sarcasm. Bruce had expected something more...angry or upset or worried, considering the situation, but no, Tony was the same as he always was.

He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not.

Then again Tony was asking one of them to volunteer to be his made so no, he wasn’t feeling particularly relived. The other man had to be desperate or insane or...something. Mating had, in essence, the same outcome as letting the board kick him out: Someone else would take everything Tony had. The company, the tower, the money, all his assets and holdings, the armor...everything he’d ever touched or put his name on would belong to his mate.

He could feel the thing inside of him that he worked so hard to keep pushed back and carefully contained stirring angrily. It wasn’t the Other Guy, not exactly, but that alpha part of him that paced restlessly in the back of his mind, that wanted things he couldn’t give it.

Brain Banner had been something of a hyper-alpha, closer to those base instincts than most people were or should be. He’d been angry, violent, territorial, and thought of his wife and son as things he ‘owned’. When he drank he’d become more beast than man, settling into his anger while growling and snapping and using fists and teeth to settle things.

Bruce had always known he didn’t want to be anything like that. He’d presented as an alpha shortly after his father had been locked away and every minute after that had been about not giving in, not letting the fact he’d been born with a certain set of hormones make him less than human. He controlled his emotions carefully, never let anger get the better of him or lashed out like other alphas might when put into tough positions.

He never thought of other people as ‘his’. He’d had Betty and he’d loved her and yes, there was a part of him that wanted to claim her, responded to her scent and closeness like an alpha would, but he’d never allowed himself to go there. He was happy just being with her and she’d never forced the issues. He’d been happy she was a beta and that the issues of heats and thus ruts weren’t anything they had to deal with.

There were a lot of people who had looked at him like he was weak because he was so...mild-mannered, he supposed. Easy going, not prone to fighting or even holding very strong opinions. He was agreeable, easily bullied, folded with little pressure, wasn’t particularly charismatic and or persuasive or good at getting his way; the opposite of everything alphas were stereotypically supposed to be.

Which was just how he wanted it.

The Other Guy and his ‘inner alpha’ as he thought of that part of himself that sat quietly inside of him and scented people, cataloged them as ‘threats, allies, pack’, that thought in terms of ‘fight, run, protect, take, need’, got along disturbingly well. Hulk was all instinct and feeling, fight or flight (but never Flight unless it was for someone else's benefit) and while Hulk had nothing but annoyance and disdain for ‘Puny Banner’ he had respect for the Alpha.

On the upside twenty some odd years of suppressing the alpha made keeping The Other Guy under control easy once he figured out there were very much the same.

The three of them rarely agreed about anything and it was always disturbing when they did because it meant the lines he pictured as carefully defined between them blurred together. It meant they weren’t as separate and different as he liked to tell himself they were.

They agreed about Betty. He loved her, Hulk wanted to protect her at all costs, and the alpha, even now, wanted to lay a claim.

They agreed about General Ross. **Hate.**

And now, here, they were all angry. How dare Ross threaten Tony? Tony was...something to them. A friend. A teammate.  **Pack.**  He'd gone above and beyond to give them a black to live and treated them normally, not like a bomb to be handled carefully or with fear but like a person, and now Ross was trying to hurt him because of that. They all agreed that it was too much, that Ross was going too far, that they had to do something. They couldn't let Tony be hurt. 

If he let himself really think about it they always agreed about Tony but he did his best to just not think about it because if he did he’d have to pack up and leave.

“How is this any different from letting the board take everything from you?” Clint asked, voice rising above everyone else.

Steve, who had been arguing on behalf of how a mating bond shouldn’t be something you did casually or as a business transaction (which Bruce found to be kind of adorable because omegas had been passed around and traded as prized commodities because of their fertility and being predisposed to carrying multiple pups at a time) and Natasha, who was talking about people she knew and had ‘information’ on that she could pay visits to in order to buy Tony time or get some politicians in his corner, both went silent.

“Because this it giving it over to someone I trust to give it back.” Tony said shrugging. “Everything will be switched over to my ‘mate’ then everything goes back to normal. Pepper is put back in her position and I continue doing what I do, only I’m putting someone else's signature on the dotted line. My mate will sign some papers that let me handle all the meetings and public stuff. If the OPA challenges go my way then my ‘mate’ hands everything back over.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked deeply satisfied. “See? I do trust all of you.”

Just not with the part where he was an omega and that burned in a way that felt like betrayal. He didn’t want to let it get under his skin. He wanted to be calm and logical and sympathetic to what Tony must have been going through his entire life, having to hide a part of himself so he could live a life without people seeing ‘omega’ first and ‘Tony Stark’ second.

Omegas were expected to be mated and have children and maybe if they had a liberal mate they’d be able to go to college and hold down some ‘omega acceptable’ jobs. They went from their parents to their mates and rarely had any kind of identity of their own.

None of that would have suited Tony, who insisted on putting his name and colors all over everything he touched and demanded attention everywhere he went.

“That’s...is that going to work?” Natasha pursed her lips. “Can you just keep going around doing everything like you did before?”

“With ‘mate permission’ sure. Probably. It’s never been done but I don’t see why I couldn’t.” He waved dismissively. “If not I can shift that stuff over to Pepper and then hire her a Pepper of her own to help out. I’ve already put thought into all of this.”

Tony’s lips twitched in a way that told Bruce he’d thought this over extensively. He’d figured out all of his options, weighed them all carefully against each other, looked at all the potential angels and outcomes, plotted out potential futures, both likely and unlikely, before deciding on a course of action. “It’s not just the company at risk, it’s the armors, it’s the tower, it’s-”

He stopped and his eyes darted over to Bruce then back to the others, so fast that if he hadn’t been watching he might have missed it. But he hadn’t and he felt the queasy feeling he’d been trying to keep at bay since Pepper had informed him that it looked like General Ross was involved  in exposing Tony.

He’d made the same leap he knew Tony must have, Ross was trying to get to him through the other man. Tony had put himself at risk, called in military favors, political favors, held the potential good Ironman could do over the heads over everyone and anyone, just to make it so Bruce could live without being hunted.

His record wasn’t exactly wiped clean, not that he’d want it to be, but as long as he stayed in the tower and didn’t have an ‘incidents’ he’d be left alone. Ross couldn’t touch him because of Tony and everything he’d done.

Exposing Tony as an omega meant him potentially losing everything, including his ability to keep Bruce ‘safe (Thought Bruce was of the opinion that it was the rest of the world who needed protecting from him, not the other way around, but Tony found that kind of talk annoying)’. No one was going to honor deals or favors called in by a now disgraced omega. To the contrary, a lot of people were going to be angry that they’d been lied to and answering to an omega, and a mouth cocky one at that. A lot of people were going to be circling the wagons, demanding answers and calling for Tony’s head.

But he was sitting here, still worried about Bruce.

He’d put some thought into leaving, packing up and heading for the border then working something out from there but he knew, logically, that the damage was done. Nothing could unring the bell once it was rung and running now would just be giving Ross what he wanted without even putting up a fight.

He owed it to Tony to do more than just roll over and hide.

“It’s the whole team.” Tony said finally, running a hand through his hair.

Natasha pursed her lips thoughtfully. “We understand that Tony, but this-”

“What if one of you find someone you actually want to be with?” Steve asked. “You can only be bonded to one person, even if it’s not ‘real’.”

That was a fantastic point. Tony was giving up his ability to be with someone else, at least in a legal or bonded sense. Bonds could be broken by death, of course, and in extreme situations like abuse or forced bonding but the effects of the broken bond could be extreme enough to most people opted to just live apart, far apart, and leave the bond in place. Which was also awful, apparently, but the lesser of two evils as it were.

Even if Tony was fine with giving that up (It was likely that, considering how he’d been hiding all this time, he’d never intended to mate anyway) asking someone else to do that, to give up a chance at finding someone they really wanted to be with and for what?

Because General Ross was still after Bruce and willing to burn anything and anyone blocking his path.

He couldn't let that happen. This was just more of the mess he'd started with his arrogance back at Culver and it was bad enough Tony was involved in it. 

“And, fuck, look at us, we’re just going to make things worse. Nat’s on the shitlist of just about everyone in the world ever right now, she’s not even a real person. I’m a carnie turned hitman turned government sniper and Bruce-”

“I’ll do it.” Bruce interrupted then started in surprise.

Had that been him? It certainly sounded like it had been him but it couldn’t have been because he wouldn’t have done that. He wasn’t ever bonding with anyone, ever. That was entirely too much like playing with fire and he'd played with more than enough fire in his life time; who knew what the Other Guy and the alpha would do in that kind of situation, if he'd be able to keep control over them? He could imagine a half dozen ways a bonding could go wrong with the Hulk involved.

Though. It wasn’t a real bonding, was it? He doubted Tony intended to ‘consummate’ it or have it be anything more than a bite and some legal paperwork so maybe he could manage that. 

It was a legal thing more than an actual matter of bonding.

And this was his fault. If he did this he could help Tony keep what belonged to him and stop anyone else from getting pulled into the situation. He couldn’t undo what had happened but he could stop the rest of the team from having to give up something on his behalf.

He nodded, satisfied with that, then looked around the table, realizing everyone was looking at him, wearing various expressions of shock. Natasha had a hand over her face and was shaking her head while Clint stared up at the ceiling, muttering what sounded like 'Aww, Bruce, no.' Steve’s mouth was actually hanging open. Even Tony looked completely taken aback. So much so that Bruce found himself scrambling to add something, anything.

“If you want?”

He probably didn’t want to. Fake or not, being tied to The Hulk forever couldn’t be what Tony wanted. Natasha or Clint would be a better choice in the eyes of just about everyone not to mention a safer choice. Sure, Tony had posed the request to all of them but he probably hadn’t expected Bruce to agree.  

Tony blinked once then nodded. “Yeah, no. I want. We...I am on board. It was my idea.”

“Good.” Bruce took his glasses off and rubbed them on his shirt, thoughts derailing dangerously at Tony saying he was on board. “That’s what we’ll do then.”

Easy. It was the easiest option, it let him do something other than hiding in the tower and letting Tony carry all of this on his own or shifting the responsibility to someone else and, a traitorous part of him that may have been Hulk or may have been the alpha whispered, they wouldn’t have to watch someone else claim Tony.  

It was actually a very logical conclusion, if he ignored that last part which he was going to do just like he always did anytime the Other Guy or the alpha had an opinion on Tony.  

He could do this. It was just...a marriage of convenience.

A more or less permanent one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Tony runs into some trouble with his suppressants (in that he's out and doesn't have anyone to make any more.) No big deal, he'll just ask Bruce! It's not like Bruce would have any moral objections to drugs that change a person's bio-chemistry, and disrupt and/or completely shutdown the normal, healthy, processes of the body right? 
> 
> Right.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are love/fuel/appreciated


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